1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to roller skates and more particularly to the axles and wheels of in-line skates.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In-line roller skating has become a popular activity, and following this activity manufacturers have developed new and improved in-line skates. In conjunction with this development there have been many patents filed. There are patents focused on removing the blade from the boot. But no patents or improvements that provide for quick release of the individual wheels and/or axles of an in-line skate are known.
Traditional methods of attaching the wheel to the blade frame use a bolt axle bolted to the blade frame. The bolt heads are positioned outside the frame and are subjected to extreme wear since the bolt head comes into contact with the pavement when the in-line skate is angled during turns or scraped along by the user. In fact often the bolt heads become so worn that they cannot be removed using a wrench. In any case the bolts must be tightened to the frame using two wrenches one on each side. There may be other designs where the wheels are riveted to the frame and are essentially not removable from the blade frame.
This problem of nut and/or bolt wear has been addressed in at least one prior art design. In this design the axle itself is a bolt with a threaded tip, and the frame hole is tapped with a matching thread to receive the axle tip. In this design the axle tip need not extend through to the outside of the frame leaving nothing exposed to the wear described above. However, the bolt head must be recessed to prevent wear to the bolt head. However, this design requires tools for tightening, and re-tightening during use is often required.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,846 ('846) is an illustration of prior art regarding a bolt on wheel, see FIG. 1 (which is a represented in FIG. 13 of the '846 patent). There is a tapped axle that extends beyond the outer surface of the frame extension to which the wheel assembly is to be securely mounted. Two bolts 2 are threaded onto the ends of the axle securely attaching the axle to the frame extensions. There is a tubular spacer 6 that may be part of the wheel assembly. The spacer is between the inner surfaces 8 of the frame extension with the axle running therethrough.
There are two enclosed ball bearing assemblies 5 with the ball retained within a raceway. The inner raceway 3 rests on the spacer 6 so that the ball bearing can rotate freely around the spacer. The outer raceway 5 is formed in a ring that fits into or may be part of the wheel hub 7. In this assembly the wheel rotates via the ball bearings and the bolts are tightened to securely retain the spacer and the wheel via the ball bearings to the frame extensions. Also, the bolts may be retained in recessed parts of the frame (also not shown). Also, it is possible to have the axle threaded into tapped holes in the two opposing frame opening so that no bolt or nut is needed.
Other in-line roller wheels may be retained to the blade using bushings and other such methods as are known in the art.
Also prior art discloses systems where the in-line skate itself is disconnectable from the boot. U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,199 to Olsen et al. shows such a device.
All of the above designs require tools to disconnect the wheels from the frame, if at all.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system where the individual wheels can be quickly and easily removed from the blade frame manually.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a more reliable attachment of the wheel in the in-line skate where the wheel never needs tightening.